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The Lonely
"The Lonely" is the seventh episode of the The Twilight Zone. From the CBS Video Library cover: "For inmate James A. Corry, solitary confinement means life on an asteroid nine million miles from Earth. Corry craves human contact —so much so that he counts the minutes until a roving ship makes its annual drop-off of provisions. Corry may well be the loneliest man in the universe. But all of that is about to change. Because the supply ship is on its way, this time carrying a special package for Corry that will help him to forget his problems...and present him with a whole new dilemma."CBS Video Library: Twilight Zone #0307 "The Invaders/One for the Angels/Eye of the Beholder/The Lonely" ; UPC: 000307060004, EAN: 0000307060004, ASIN: B0007LHTR4; Format: NTSC, VHS, Collector's Edition (1987) Episode Details Title Sequence Opening Narration : "Witness if you will a dungeon, made out of mountains, salt flats and sand that stretch to infinity. The dungeon has an inmate: James A. Corry. And this is his residence: a metal shack. An old touring car that squats in the sun and goes nowhere - for there is nowhere to go. For the record let it be known that James A. Corry is a convicted criminal placed in solitary confinement. Confinement in this case stretches as far the eye can see, because this particular dungeon is on an asteroid nine million miles from the Earth. Now witness if you will a man's mind and body shriveling in the sun, a man dying of loneliness." Episode Summary Allenby, the captain of a supply ship that travels the solar system, take pity on Corry, who's serving a fifty-year sentence for murder, and leaves him a box containing Alicia, a robot that looks and sounds exactly like a woman. Initially, Corry is repelled by the robot, but eventually his heart melts and he falls deeply in love with her. Eleven months pass. Then one day the supply shiplands. Allenby tells Corry he's received a full pardon, and that they've come to get him. But there's a hitch: Corry can only take fifteen pounds of gear, and Alicia weighs more than that. Corry refuses to leave her behind, claiming that she's a woman. Reluctantly, Allenby draws his gun and shoots Alicia full in the face, revealing the mass of smoldering wires. He tells Corry, "All you're leaving behind is loneliness." Stunned, Corry replies, "I must remember that. I must remember to keep that in mind." Closing Narration : "On a microscopic piece of sand that floats through space is a fragment of a man's life. Left to rust is the place he lived in and the machines he used. Without use, they will disintigrate from the wind and the sand and the years that act upon them; all of Mr. Corry's machines - including the one made in his image, kept alive by love, but now obsolete . . . in the Twilight Zone." Preview for Next Week's Story "Next week, a distinguished actor lends us his talents as Mr. Burgess Meredith stars in "Time Enough at Last", the story of a man who seeks salvation in the rubble of a ruined world. We hope you'll share this very strange experience with us. Thank you and good night." Themes Critical Response Background Information Cast * Rod Serling as Narrator (voice only); uncredited * Jack Warden as James Corry * Jean Marsh as Alicia * John Dehner as Captain Allenby * Ted Knight as Adams; uncredited * James Turley as Carstairs; uncredited Crew *Rod Serling (executive producer: Cayuga Productions) *Buck Houghton (producer) *George T. Clemens (director of photography) *Joseph Gluck (film editor) *Millie Gusse (casting; credited: Mildred Gusse) *George W. Davis (art director) *William Ferrari (art director) *Rudy Butler (set decorator) *Henry Grace (set decorator) *Ralph W. Nelson (production manager) *Edward O. Denault (assistant director; credited: Edward Denault) *Franklin Milton (sound; credited: Frank Milton) *Jean G. Valentino (sound; credited: Jean Valentino) *Van Allen James (sound effects editor; uncredited) Production Companies *Cayuga Productions *Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (in association with) Distributors *Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1959) (USA) (TV) (original airing) Other *United Productions of America (UPA) (animated title) *U.S. Department of Interior (filming at Desolation Canyon, Death Valley National Monument courtesy of) (as Department of Interior) Trivia *The seventh episode originally aired, but the second to be filmed, following the pilot. *This episode takes place from 2046 to 2047. *The first of many Twilight Zone ''episodes to be filmed on location in Death Valley. Unprepared for the conditions, the crew suffered extreme dehydration and heat exhaustion. Director of Photography George T. Clemens collapsed and fell from a camera crane. The cast and crew feared Clemens was suffering of a heart attack, but it turned out to simply be heat exhaustion. *The heat got to be so bad for the cast and crew, that the scenes in Corry's shack were shot on the MGM lot. *One of the first early stories Rod Serling used to pitch ''The Twilight Zone to sponsors. *George T. Clemens later said that sweat of the cast and crew would evaporate almost immediately. Because of this, the sweat seen in the show is actually glycerin. Cast Connections Memorable Quotes Notes and References External Links * Category:Episodes Category:First Series Episodes Category:1959-1960 Season